The Mythology of Rape
Author: Flora Thomas-GuilloryPublished on: Oct 26, 2001
Rape is a dehumanizing, brutal assault upon a woman. Her life is put in danger; she is forced to submit to sexual intimacies with a man whose attention she has not encouraged; she is left stunned and humiliated. Feelings of shame and guilt are reinforced as she is treated as if she were the criminal.
Too few studies have been conducted on the crime of rape and the general public is not made aware of the statistics available through rape crisis centers and law enforcement. Consequently, data regarding the rapist personality characteristics, how, when, and where the rape is most likely to occur, and the consequences of rape on the victim aren't public knowledge. The lack of information perpetuates a complete misunderstanding of rape in society, resulting in the victim being seen as having contributed to the crime, which in turn leads to her unwillingness to report and subsequently prosecute her attacker. In no other crime is the victim further harassed, dehumanized, and shamed by society, law enforcement, the courts, family or friends than is the rape victim. She, in effect, becomes the accused, the criminal.
Some of the more recently quoted studies which have challenged the more prevalent myths surrounding rape are Sex Offenders by Dr. Albert Cans, Patterns in Forcible Rape by Dr. M. Amir, and Rape, Offenders and Their Victims by John MacDonald. Although the studies are excellent sources of data and help enlighten society, none of the completed studies have been by women or from a woman's point of view. More recently, a number of books on the subject of rape have become available which are written by women and from the woman's point of view: Against Rape by Andrea Medea and Kathleen Thompson; Rape: How to avoid it and what to do if you can't by Jane Bundy Csida and Joseph Csida; Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape by Susan Brownmiller; and The Politics of Rape by Diana E. H. Russell.
Some of the more prevalent myths about rape are listed below.
1. Perhaps the most common myth is the widely held belief that a rapist is a sexually unfulfilled man carried away by a sudden uncontrollable surge of desire. The actual facts: Dr. Amir's study showed that 90% of group rapes were planned in advance and that 58% of rapes committed by a single man were planned. Generally, rape is not a crime of impulse. As to the myth that rapists are sexually unfulfilled, Dr. William Prendergast of the New Jersey State Prison states that all of the rapists that he has studied had available sexual relationships. Sixty percent of the men in Dr. Amir's study were, in fact, married and led normal sexual lives at home.
2. A second myth is that all rapist are pathologically sick and perverted men. Evidence does not support this view of the rapist. According to Dr. Amir, men convicted of rape were found to have normal sexual personalities, differing from the norm only in their greater tendency to express violence and rage. Sex, therefore, is not the motivating factor in rape, it is merely the chosen mode of expression. Alan Taylor, a parole officer who has worked with rapist in the prison facilities at San Luis Obsipo, California, said about the men, "those men were the most normal men there."
3. Another popular myth is that most rapes occur in dark back alleys or only to women who go to bars. Some people feel the solution to rape is for women to spend their lives staying at home. But Dr. Amir's study clearly shows the fallacy in this type of thinking. A man who forced his way into the victim's home commits more than one third of rapes! And over half of all rapes committed occur in a residence.
4. Most people believe that the typical rapist is a stranger to the victim. This just isn't so. Dr. Amir's study found that forty-eight percent of the perpetrators ranged from men who were merely casual friends to those who were close relatives of the victim.
5. The age old myth that African American men rape Caucasian women at every opportunity is still perpetuated even though Dr. Amir reports that in 93.2% of rape cases both the man and woman are the same race.
6. Many people are inclined to believe that a raped woman was somehow at fault--that she probably provoked to attack. This provocation, considered a mitigating factor in a courtroom, may consist of a gesture or a particular way of dressing. Even using this extreme scale, the Federal Commission on Crimes of Violence reports that only 4% of reported rapes involved any precipitated behavior on the part of the women. In some cases preciptate behavior is nothing more than walking and dressing in a way that is socially defined as attractive. Our society applauds women who are sexy, but those unlucky enough to be raped are dismissed as tramps.
7. Some persons believe that rape is impossible without consent, that a normal man cannot rape a woman unless he has assistance. Unfortunately, it is simply not true that a woman who does not want to be raped can always prevent it. She may be knocked unconscious, or may submit because she fears for her life if she resists. Most men are physically stronger than most women, and the attacker usually has the advantage of surprise. There have been instances where experienced policewomen, trained in self-defense and emergency situations, have been raped, despite their efforts at resistance. There are many men, especially in American prisons, who are attacked and sexually assaulted by their fellow male inmates, despite their superior strength.
8. The common male belief that women, in fact enjoy rape when it occurs would be hilarious if it wasn't such a tragic and destructive myth. The very idea that a woman could enjoy being attacked by a man she is not attracted to, that she could enjoy being exposed to injury or death, that she could enjoy being treated in a humiliating and brutal fashion is preposterous.
So the question is, "How do we stop rape?" As long as each of us lets that sexist comment pass, as long as we smile but say nothing when we observe sexist treatmen of another human being, smirk when someone tells a sexist joke, and accept what we know to be morally wrong, then we will have a society that accepts rape. We, as individuals, make up the society in which we live and have the ability to influence--even if it is one person at a time.
Stopping rape means challenging not only our perception, but also those of the people around us. It requires speaking up and taking a stand when it would be much easier to be silent. For as long as we accept the attitudes and behaviors that promote rape, we will have rape. The answer is simple: do not accept the unacceptable. The important things in life are often simple, but do not ever mistake simple for being easy.